Infinite World
by Chibi Ryu Chan
Summary: Main character wakes his senses to find that he has altered the whole world, that his dreams are coming true and that he is a God. He also finds that a great nemesis has appeared.
1. Part One: Primum mobile

Disclamer: Any characters that are copyrighted by Sunrise and Bandai Entertainment are not mine. Any other characters copyrighted by anyone else are not mine either... all the characters I made are not copyrighted so feel free to use them.

_I needed to get away fast! It would take a lot more time for me to achieve enough power to oppose Them. A whole new universe in a distant corner of the Whole…_

_Too much… Everything is so wrong… what?_

_Knocking… _

Chapter one: _Primum mobile_

"Get up or you'll be late for your club's meeting!" That was my roommate Lore. Actually Lore is only her nickname but I don't know her real name – she never tells.

"Rough night?" Lore asked me when I finally got to the kitchen.

"Ughh..." was all I could manage.

"That dream again?" I nodded my head and immediately a sharp pain ran through it.

"This time it was a bit clearer, but you woke me before I could begin to comprehend the meaning of it all."

"Sorry! Well I got to go now or I'll be late for **my** club's meeting. Bye now, and don't forget that it is your turn to cook tonight."

"Riiiiiiiiigth… bye!"

After seeing her off I decided to leave house a bit early and take the scenic route to university because this was the first day that the sun was finally out of the clouds in a long time. I hoped that the walk would cheer me up a little but deep inside I knew that that was useless.

I guess I should be happy but that's the last thing I am. For the past several years I've felt like this whole world is something that I cannot be a part of. I shouldn't be complaining though. I have good parents that are supporting me now that I am living on campus. I am studying at a good university and I don't have many problems. But my life is empty. Most of the time I feel I could cry over an existence that I am not experiencing, existence that is supposed to be mine but cannot be achieved in this world.

The club's meeting was about to start when I finally arrived at the university and by the looks of the other members' faces I was the main topic today. Not the most comforting thought might I add…

"Oi, Ryu! You seem awfully gloomy for such a lovely day!"

"Not that I don't have a reason for it."

"Right… Well then I guess you already know that you are the star of the next freestyle motocross competition."

"Great! Whatever happened to Watanabe?"

"He's in a hospital recovering from a trauma he got in the last practice run."

"Now that's inspiring!"

"Awww, c'mon! Your victory will be a bastion of hope for recognition from others and it will make other university's hopes fall like a house of cards!"

"Enough of your elaborate metaphors Kate! I feel bad as it is."

"Whatever! So, shall we go practice a little?"

"Like I had a choice…"

"Don't be such a sore-puss; after this is over I just might share with you the new Cowboy Bebop manga I just bought…"

"It is out already? Well then I guess I'm your man."

"Hehe, I know of all your weak spots, and that means that from this day on you shall be my slave!"

What can I say – Japanese animation is my weakness.

On the way to the damn place where I will be risking my life to make some crazy stunts for the next few hours Kate was babbling some nonsense that I didn't pay much attention to for all my thoughts were concentrated only on the task at hand so I didn't notice the strange things that were happening all around me.

Only when Kate's voice suddenly became high-pitched I turned my attention to her. She seemed to be normal but it was the empty stare or rather the fact that her pupils seemed to become emptier – a splash of grey with nothing in them except the color. The air seemed to thicken around me and everything seemed to become more colorful. That was the last thing I remembered before passing-out.

I opened my eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling. It was white, but not quite – the white seemed like it was not real. I looked around and for a moment considered to loose my mind and start running around and screaming – all of the surroundings were not real! Everything seemed like it was taken from an anime! But then I understood that it all must be a dream and decided to enjoy it while it lasted. I reached for the call button and pressed it a few times. In a moment in came a very beautiful young girl. Very nice figure, blue eyes, dark-golden hair, and the most beautiful part – she was animated.

"Please tell me that I have died and that this is Heaven," Was all I could come up with.

"Don't be foolish Ryu, this is the hospital to witch you were delivered after you passed out. And don't think you were original – you are not the first person to call me an Angel!"

"Well then I must be the first person to mean it. And besides, I really did feel like in heaven when I saw you."

"Oh well, men will be men I guess. Anyway, how are you feeling now?"

"I don't think anything is wrong with me. I feel fine."

"Well then I guess you can get up and go for a checkup then!"

"OW! My poor stomach! It hurts!"

"Now don't be a baby and come with me."

"OK, OK, but first tell me your name."

"Well, if it will make you get out of that bed, it's Ann."

"That did the trick! Just hearing your name cured all my pains!"

"That was something new, but I am still not impressed."

Damn woman! Oh well I guess I could walk around and see how everything looks. As we walked down the corridors I saw a lot of people and they all were beautiful, well, the girls anyway. "Ahh, this is quite the nice change from my usual nightmares. I wondered how long would this dream continue… But I'd better not burden myself with such bad thoughts and enjoy it while it lasts."

At the end of one of a hall we stopped and I was asked to go in. Inside I saw someone who could only be described as "mother of all seductive nurses".

"Please come in"

"Erm…" was all I could muster.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too. Please sit down here and take your shirt off."

I did as I was told and felt how my cheeks started to fill up with red color. But that feeling was soon forgotten for I got to look at my self in the mirror. Taller than I was, slightly tanned, really well-built and with a face that was… perfect.

After a moments shock I regained my wits and the ability to talk. By that time the doctor was finished with me and said that I was in perfect shape and that I could go. And that I did.

After leaving the hospital I nearly snapped my neck trying to see as much as I could in the short time before I woke up. I heard a familiar voice in the distance. It was Kate. Curious as hell to see how she looked now, I dashed towards her voice as fast as I could, but I tripped. I got up and slightly limping went towards her. When I finally reached her I felt a little weary.

"HEY! Hold for a moment!"

"Oh hi Ryu, where… Oh my god! What happened to you leg? It is bleeding."

"It's nothing, I fell when trying to catch you. It stings a bit but its ok."

"You should get it cleaned though. Sorry, I need to run now, bye!"

After she left I suddenly got a nagging feeling in the back of my head that didn't want to leave me alone. After a minute of putting two and two together and getting four and doing some other thinking along the way I stopped dead in my tracks, I was completely baffled by my sudden realization – I felt pain! Everything was too real to be a dream. I went to a chair and sat down to gather my thoughts. After doing some harder thinking than simple equations I came to a couple possibilities: First: I finally lost it and everything was my imagination; Second: I am asleep and this is just a very realistic dream; Third: I had, hopefully, fallen into a different dimension and now am presented with the possibility of living a realm where I finally felt at home. Now that would be something to be happy about. But for now I guess I should just see how does this place look like. First I guess I should go to a drug store and get my leg patched up a bit, then I could go have some dinner, my stomach was growling so loud that I got a little bit embarrassed. I decided to catch a cab so I looked in my pocket for my cell-phone, which was the thing that led me to my next surprise – my phone gone and a little doll was in its place. When I took it out she greeted me and asked what she could do for me.

"Don't stare at me like that, master, it's embarrassing!"

"Sorry, I just spaced out a little." That sounded like a good enough reason to be used in explanation to a talking doll… Maybe I **am** losing my mind…

"What can I do for you master," she inquired again.

"Uhh, could you call for a cab?"

"YES master!... It will be here in two minutes. Can I do anything else for you?"

"No, thanks."

The cab arrived and I got in. I asked the driver to take me to a drug store somewhere nearby and made myself comfortable on the back chair.

The next surprise came when I looked in my wallet to find money to pay for the ride, there was about five or six hundred thousand yen in it! "Any more surprises and I will have to be hospitalized again," I thought to myself.

After a quick visit to the drug store I went to a nearby bar. The bar was a pleasant surprise, one that didn't leave me with an open mouth for once, well, it did, but in a good way. It was a bunny-girl bar. With all the money I had I decided I could enjoy myself for once.

It was well after midnight I decided I had had enough for one time and got out of the bar to go home. I pulled my little helper out of my pocket and asked her to call for a cab. When I got into the cab she proved to be quite useful and told the driver where to take me.

_The creation of something so expansive in my current power will be almost an impossible task and will leave me powerless for many billions of years and for most of them I will not even be able to live… _

_Knocking…_

"Let me sleep just a little longer!" I was sure that it was Lore who has come to wake me up from my perfect dream. Oh well… "Might as well get up and face the harsh reality."

I opened my eyes and thought that I was still dreaming – everything was "animated". Then it hit me – IT WAS REAL! There were no limits to my joy of this realization. I was so overjoyed that I wanted to hop around and laugh and decided that it is not the worst idea so I did so.

Apparently my behavior was a little loud and someone came in to see what all the fuss was about.

"Is everything all right?" asked a very lovely young girl.

"Yes… Umm, who are you?"

"Who the hell do you think... I mean... I am your... maid. You must have been in the sun too much yesterday, you fell asleep in the taxi and the guards had to carry you to your room."

"Umm, right. Sorry, my mind is a little fuzzy."

I must say that when the maid's tone made it clear that I know her rather well and I couldn't remember her I was rather tempted to say something along the lines of "Sin… toxins…" That brought a little smile on my face.

"No need to apologize... master."

"Right… could I have some breakfast?"

"Should I bring it to your bed or will drag your... I mean come to the dining room?"

"I'll go to the dining room I guess. Could you hand me some clothes while you're here?"

"Yeah, yeah."

I couldn't understand why but my heart hurt looking at the maid as if I had known her in the past. But I couldn't remember it hurt so much.

Breakfast was yet another surprise – all that was on the table was a bottle with no label and some red liquid in it. I guess I am supposed to be on a diet…

After the breakfast I called for the lovely maid.

"I'm sorry, but my memory is still a bit fuzzy, could you say your name again?"

"It's Aisha."

Another pang of pain ran through my heart and quickly spread throughout my body after hearing that name. "Who is she?"

"Right, Aisha. From now on could you call me Ryu and I will call you Aisha. Would that be OK with you?"

"Yes… Ryu"

"Now that that is understood could you refresh my memory a bit – did I have any special plans for today?"

"Nothing really special. Only that that at three a rookie will come by to receive some special training."

"A rookie?"

"Yes Ryu, training on the use of advanced arms."

"And where did nuclear bomb disarming on an actual nuke go?"

"That's for tomorrow's training."

"Great! So now I am a weapons expert, a trainer and a rich guy… well, things will get a little interesting soon." I let myself slip under the table and sat there for a while. "This is definitely going to be one hell of a day!"

"Hello, my name is Oni. Please look after me."

"Well, Oni, I hope you will live up to your name today."

In the basement I was awaited by yet another surprise – it was huge! I couldn't even make out the far end though the light was on and my eyesight was much better than in the real world.

"What do you have to do today? As in have you some sort of a plan?"

"Why, yes. Today I am supposed to pass my light and medium weaponry proficiency test with you as my supervisor."

"Right, OK." "Aisha, could you come down here for a moment and show this guy where he might prepare for the test?" I asked through the intercom.

"In a moment Ryu."

When Aisha came down she escorted us to the east wall of the "basement". When Oni got to the weapons locker I turned to Aisha, "Could you help me out a little here? Something seems not quite fine with my head today."

"Yes, Ryu. And I do believe that you just spent too much time in the sun yesterday."

"OK, anyway, could you help me evaluating this guy's performance?"

"Well, that is a surprise! My teacher wants me to help **him**!"

"I guess so. So will you do it? Afterwards I promise to take you out to dinner to some very nice place if you do."

"Well, if that's the deal then OK."

Soon after Oni began I realized that I understood how and what had to be done and how everything worked as if it was some sort of knowledge that I had somewhere in my head all along. Oni did quite well and I didn't have much to say to him but "well done".

At nine o'clock I felt that surprises will just keep on coming.

"Aisha your ears!"

"Nya? Anything wrong with them?

"No, you look fantastic!" Now I understand what was so familiar about Aisha – she was a ctarl-ctarl! And she looked simply fabulous. I didn't realize this earlier because she was wearing the maid's uniform which concealed her pointy cat-ears. And I suddenly remembered who she was. She is my only love – I fell in love with her five years ago but it only hurt me because I couldn't reach up to her, I couldn't be near her…

"So shall we get going, or are you going to stare at me for the rest of the evening?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, let's go."

"I never would have guessed how much can you eat… but I guess that is what I get for asking a ctarl-ctarl out to dinner."

"It is not polite to point out how much a woman eats you know!"

"Sorry… anyway what is with this food? I knew western food was not as good as Japanese but never did I think it would be so blank!"

"Well, that is what you get for being a vampire I guess…"

"A **what**?"

"A vampire. What **did** you do to yourself yesterday?"

"Oh, never mind. I just am a little out of it."

"Anyway, this was a nice thought of yours to bring me to such a lovely place."

"You're welcome... Excuse me for a moment."

"I can't believe this! I am a **vampire**! This all is just too much like fragments of my wishes and dreams put together! I wouldn't be surprised if someone from GRO visited me and I just forgot. I have to sit down for a moment and gather all my thoughts. I'm in a world that is my vision of a perfect world, I'm rich, I know a lot of things that I didn't, my body is much better than it used to be, I'm a semi-daywalking vampire and I am high-ranked in some military or such organization. It is as if my wishes have shaped this world…" The lavatory's walls suddenly seemed weird and an uneasy feeling came over me.

"Uggh… I think I am not supposed to eat normal food anymore – I feel terrible." Suddenly the lights seemed to dim…


	2. Part Two: Agnosco te ipsum

Disclamer: Any characters that are copyrighted by Sunrise and Bandai Entertainment are not mine. Any other characters copyrighted by anyone else are not mine either... all the characters I made are not copyrighted so feel free to use them.

Part Two: _Agnosco te ipsum_.

"I am glad that you have finally awoken."

"Who are you? Where am I?"

"You won't believe me how many times have I herd these questions. For your second question – you are between. And I am known to you as the Grim Reaper."

"So, does this mean that I am dead?"

"No, you I cannot accept in my realms."

"And why is that?"

"It is because you are an endless and for that reason… What is it that I am saying that you find so amusing?"

"Let's just say that I just had a very disturbing deja-vu."

"Never mind then. I am very happy that I found you before Them."

"Why is that?"

"Because even though I am supposed to be neutral I couldn't just stand there and let injustice be done."

"Umm… I'm drawing a blank here."

"Not surprising considering that you have been not living for eons. Now let me refresh your memory… You are a God. One of many. But you also are an outcast. A very long time ago you disagreed whit the others about how balance should be maintained throughout the Whole. They didn't agree with each other much either but They saw you as the main threat to their vision of how the Whole should be like. Therefore you ware attacked by the others and driven into hiding. The universe that you consider your home is something that you yourself created to hide in for the time that is necessary to regain your strength."

"This is too much. It all has to be some sort of a sick joke."

"There is no need for me to be lying. I just want to warn you that that "miracle" you created – changing the entire world, attracted their attention and now they're tracking you down. They will find you."

"What can I do to oppose them? How can I…"

"I have told you all that you need to know. The rest is up to you."

"But!"…

"_There seems to be no choice but to hide away. I do not yet have enough power to open the gate and let the soul devourer out. For that reason I shall create a new universe somewhere distant where I can conceal myself until my powers have fully grown. I will need your help because creation of a whole universe will take too much of my already overused power. For eons I shall be nothing more than a soul flying pointlessly through space but in time I will be reborn in a mortal shell. But I will not have any memories of the times past and I will need you to look after me and help me big sister."_

"SCREW thre bet! You are going to explain yourself for leaving me alone in that restaurant and then appear home after four hours!"

"Four hours? Bet?"

"Yes, bet! You told me that I had to be your maid and to be on my best behavior for one month because you are some monster when it comes to chuging scotch."

"Sorry, but I have my doubts on what was happening for the past several hours myself. And as for the lost bet, I think I can cancel your duties as a maid if you'll forgive my rudness."

"Well, if that is the deal then apology accepted."

"OK. About those four hours… I need to try out a theory." After saying that I made a couple of seals with my hands and then shouted "KAGE BUSHIN NO JITSU!" and suddenly about thirty replicas of me appeared around me.

"EEP! How did you do **that**?"

"Your not going to believe me if I told you."

"How could I not believe the man I love?

I felt my heart skip a beat after hearing those words. "Aisha loves me! I truly have created my paradise! I see Grim Reaper was telling the truth, but doesn't that mean that my life is in danger?"…

"I'm sorry, but I won't answer your questions today, too much has happened and I need some time to fully understand it myself."

"Well… OK. But I want an explanation first thing after you wake up or you won't get any food in this house for a week!"

After a drink of the red liquid that I now understood is blood, I retired to my room to think it all over. But I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

"_You are going to need to help me regain all my knowledge big sister."_

"_I will wait for you no matter how long it takes and once you are reborn I will stay by your side and when the time comes guide you."_

"_Lore?"_

I woke up as worried as I have ever been, cold sweat running down my back. Lore is my sister and also a god… I needed to find her quick!

"Aisha, I am going to need your help! I need to find someone, someone really important!"

"Well that is a nice way of saying good-morning!"

"I need to find a person whose name is Lore." "OOH! How handy would a picture of her be right now!" and as I thought it a picture of Lore appeared in my hand.

"Here is a picture of her."

"OK. Lemmesee… Well that was easy! She is a member of Hellsing… Here is her current location, phone number, and so on. Now, will you explain something to me?"

"Not yet. I need to talk to her first!"

"OK, let's go then!"

We arrived at a large building complex on the east side of town.

"This is where she lives?"

"YUP!"

"Well then, let's go in."

"Ryu! What a pleasant surprise!"

"Same here. Could we talk a little?"

"Sure! Come right in!"

"So this is where you live?"

"Yes. And who is this kitty?"

"NYANYII? I am Aisha! And I am no kitty! I am a proud Ctarl-ctarl!"

"Whatever. Anyway Ryu, I see you have understood what is going on and came to seek my help. Right?"

"Yes… big sister."

"So you do remember something! How nice… Anyway, you should come with me. And maybe you should leave the kitten behind."

Fearing for my sister's safety, and mine, I quickly disagreed and politely asked Aisha to accompany us.

We walked through a door and found ourselves in a dark room. I don't know how but I knew that we were not on Earth any more. It seemed that I could become one with the air here. I noticed that Aisha was very tense, I could tell by her revealed fangs and swinging tail. Lore came in last and closed the door.

"Welcome to my domain! From here anyone can travel virtually anywhere in place and time for I am the goddess of time! I do so hope that you like how everything is made in here."

"This is not right! My sister wasn't in any way associated with time!"

"Oh I see that your memory has returned to a great level. Most impressive my little friend."

"Who are you and what have you done with Lore?"

"You don't remember me? Once you said that I should have a name and called me Xaa. Maybe this will refresh your memory a little…"

And with those words she began to change. After several moments she didn't look like a human any more – she was more like a serpent than anything else. Her eyes were venom green, her hair black as the darkest night, yet her face, thin though it might be, was beautiful. Her beauty enchanting and evil would consume me had Aisha not been here. She jumped at the "goddess" and wrestled her down, Xaa in turn just threw her off and against the wall and immediately turned all of her attention to me completely ignoring Aisha who seemingly crumpled by the wall. A very big mistake might I add; Aisha was already rising, her eyes glowed red, her every muscle was strained. I needed to draw Xaa's attention so she wouldn't notice Aisha's transformation. I concentrated and a phantom blade formed itself around my arm. Xaa snickered softly "I see you indeed remember something. But how can you single-handedly stand against **me**?" After saying this, she flung herself at me at tremendous speed. I was paralyzed with fear, although my body thought otherwise. I felt myself pivot on my right leg, narrowly avoiding her claw-like fingers and perform a superb slash with my newly formed blade. The slash went wide, because she was not there anymore. I somehow felt her behind my back and without hesitation leapt back and landed neatly about three feet away, but something was wrong. The ground seemed like ice and I felt myself sliding further. While I was contemplating my new environment, my blade acted deftly on its own, impaling itself into the ground and bringing me to a halt.

Xaa seemed to be taken aback, although no doubt entered her voice as she coolly commented on my acrobatic feats "'Tis but a trifle of my power, but already you are driven into defense." Without answering, I composed myself and cast a quick glance towards Aisha. Unfortunately, she still needed time. This time I would need to attack, lest Xaa noticed her yet unrevealed foe. I tugged my blade a bit and felt that it cut smoothly trough the floor's matter. I couldn't hope to strike her down, so my only choice was to use her ignorance of my powers and Aisha. I charged towards Xaa, my blade still sheeted in the ground, cutting trough the floor behind me, peculiarly making no sound. About two feet away from Xaa I leapt desperately into the air, forming seals with my hands. After gaining about ten feet of altitude, they were complete and I began my descent, accompanied by my chants. I saw Xaa eyes widen in shock, as she witnessed thirty blades that seemed to be emitting a dark glow clashing down on her. Xaa swiftly phased away evading my desperate attempt to strike her down. Yet another surprise awaited our hostess. Aisha, having completed her transformation, was ready for a warm welcome. She lashed out at Xaa's back, bringing her down to her knees. Xaa was visibly shaken and with her hand planted firmly on the ground for support she declared in a trembling voice "This is but a **trifle** of the forces opposing you! You shall be struck down in due time!" I drew upon memories from the times long gone, vast, yet distant, and found the appropriate answer, "You are indeed getting old. You're beginning to repeat yourself."

"This is not over! Not by far!"

"I see your point… Why should I care?"

Casting one last angry glance at me and Aisha she disappeared.

"What took you so long, Aisha?" I asked her after she transformed into her normal self.

"I was smashed against a wall, this place doesn't seem to have a moon and most importantly, I WAS HUNGRY!"

"Whatever. For now we should concentrate on getting out of here."

We went back to the door we came through and found that it was open.

Upon leaving the house Aisha contacted someone via her bracelet and a car was already waiting for us when we reached the nearby street. We got in and Aisha told the driver to take us home.

When we finally arrived home Aisha had had enough.

"So will you finally tell me what the hell is going on?"

"I guess it would be only appropriate." And so I told Aisha the entire story.

"…and so it seems that they have finally found me."

"So that means that my love for you is also your creation? That I am nothing more than a dream that has been brought to life?"

"It is true that it is I who created this world… and you… But you must understand that it was my deepest dreams that formed this new world and my true love that created you. Ever since I first saw you I knew that I love you. It was the greatest gift of all and yet… the most dreadful curse that could have been bestowed upon me. For five long years I felt that I was trapped in a void. For five years I could not bring myself to feel anything about any women. I did have some friends but they all seemed like nothing to me... rather phantoms, not real people. There was not a single day in those years that I didn't shed tears of grief from not being able to be near you, tears that seemed to be coming from my heart and felt like acid climbing up and burning my soul from within. It all stopped a couple months ago when I suddenly collapsed and woke up in a hospital. They said that my heart just stopped and that it was a miracle that I was still alive. After that I couldn't remember the day I passed out and I couldn't remember you until I finally saw you here. But now I remember why I almost died – I was thinking about you and grief washed me away like a tidal wave. I couldn't stand it anymore, my heart seemed to be drowning in tears and blood and then… But now you are here and I can be close to you. And I will do anything I can to prove to you that I am worthy of your love… if I indeed am…"

Tears filled Aisha's eyes while she listened to me and after I finished she spoke to me in a soft voice "I truly love you and now I don't care that it was you who made me and made my love to you. I feel like I could reach up to the stars and shape them as I wish when I am with you, and if it is your love that made me like this then it has to be true, your feelings – sincere."

"I hope that we can be together for all eternity, even after cosmoses collide and vanish. Forever together, forever loving. And I promise that I will get rid of this Damocles sword hanging over us and protect you even if it costs me my life…"

My last words failed to escape my mouth because Aisha's lips covered mine. We embraced each other, her warmth seemed to burn me, our souls were entwined, we were as one. And then I understood; the only life worth living is a life with her…

I woke up the next day and found that we were still embraced as if in sleep we feared that we might loose each other had we let go. Fearing that I might wake her I silently took her hand of me and ascended to the roof. I sat there thinking about how everything turned out and what should be done next. Firstly I needed to make sure that Aisha will be safe from attacks of other gods. I guess I need to train with my divine powers for that. While pondering on the matter my eyes turned to the gate and I saw someone standing there. I jumped of the roof and went to the gate to see who was the man standing there.

"Would you care to explain why are you standing outside there?"

"I am here for my nuclear warhead disabling training, sir!"

"Wait a moment, wasn't it supposed to be yesterday?"

"Yes, but you were not here yesterday, so I waited here, sir!"

"You were waiting here all night?"

"Yes. Sir, could we commence the training today?"

"Right, OK. Come in"

We went down to the basement and by the time we reached the far wall I had "remembered" everything I needed to know about nuke disarming.

"You look slightly gloomy." I commented the soldier.

"Easy for you to speak, you will be watching me from behind a shielding system that can fully repel any blast and radiation while I am going to be in there, working on very delicate wiring, wearing protective gear that limits movement."

Suddenly an idea struck me.

"Aisha, are you awake?" I asked through the intercom.

"Yes. Anything happening?"

"Yes. Remember the rookie that was supposed to have training yesterday? Well he is here right now and is ready to go through the training and I would like you to be down here and observe and comment him… That is if you know about nukes."

"I am fully competent about nuclear weaponry and will gladly help. But why can't you do it? I thought your knowledge was sufficient."

"I have an idea which I need to work on ASAP."

"OK, but this time I want to go to an Italian restaurant and I don't want you disappearing in the middle of the dinner, got that?"

"Anything for you. Anyway, I will go somewhere else and work on my new idea. Will you be down soon?"

"In a moment."

I told my "student" that another supervisor will come shortly and departed to the farthest side of the basement.

I decided that shielding someone is quite obviously a very good idea of defending that certain person. For that I needed to "remember" how to do something like that. For that reason I took a peace of wood and a concrete block. In my mind I formed a shield around the wooden plank and then mentally attacked it. Not a thing happened so I tried to "attack" the concrete block and to my surprise, though I was expecting something, it exploded. "Good," I thought. Next I tried to slash the wood with the blade that I used when fighting Xaa and after I was thrown against the wall I felt my confidence rising. Next I tried burning, shooting, blowing it up, all to the same result – not even a scratch appeared on it. "Now we're getting somewhere!" I thought and gave myself a pat on the back. Next I tried to form a shield around myself to see how it affects living matter. I didn't feel much different with the "shield" on so I tried to shoot myself in the foot to see if it was working. Foolish though it might be it seemed like the correct thing to do under the circumstances. Again – nothing. I felt confidence rise in me and wanted to try something bigger on myself when suddenly the alarms went of. I dashed to where Aisha was and judging by the look on her face my worst expectations were true – the soldier had done something terribly wrong. I sprinted to the window to see what was going on and saw the poor guy beating on the exit door which wouldn't open. Without thinking I formed a shield around him and tried to disarm the weapon with my mind but it was too late – the bomb went off and for the next few moments nothing could be seen in that room, and no wonder – there was, basically, a nuclear explosion in a can. When the room cleared out a bit I saw the solder standing there, his mouth open and eyes wide in disbelief – he was alive! I quickly accessed the computer controls and overrode its security system and opened the door to the testing room. The poor guy came out completely dazed and the anti-radiation treatment he got upon leaving the test room didn't help his situation much either.

"Just go take a shower and sleep a bit. The test involved a dummy nuke so you are going to be fine."

"OK… whatever… sleep… right…"

"Was it really a dummy nuke?" I asked Aisha when we were alone.

"Not really, but I didn't want him knowing of our powers… It **was **you who saved him, right?"

"Yes, and I am going to put the same kind of protection on you so as nothing bad could happen."

"Do you really consider me so weak that I need special protection?"

"No, but I do consider the god's opposing me to be that strong that something like this would not be unnecessary."

"Well, that's that… So what are we going to do now?"

"I am not quite sure myself… I guess I could take you to that Italian restaurant like I promised."


	3. Part three: Amicus verus rara avis est

Part three: Amicus verus rara avis est

„This was much better than our last dinner, Ryu," Said Aisha looking every bit as seductive as a cat-girl could. Needless to say I couldn't agree with her more – this time I wasn't transported to the realms of the Grim Reaper in the middle of it, wasn't informed that my life is in danger, not to mention the fact that last time I was also overwhelmed with information, and the best part – Aisha was happy.

"Speaking of past actions, I would like to resume our search for Lore as soon as we get home."

"Don't forget the fact that a lot of manpower is applied at the moment to find your sister."

"I'm not forgetting it; it is just that I feel we need godpower to locate her."

"I guess it must be some sort of a brother-sister thing..."

When we finally got home I sat down by the computer and started checking all the info I could locate on Lore. It was obvious that she had made her "legend" with the expertise of a master that no one on earth could compete with.

Even though I wasn't sleepy, I decided to give it a rest after eleven hours of non-stop searching. I went outside to breathe a little bit of fresh air and cool down my mind before it had reached boiling point.

"I see you have finally decided that suicide via over exhaustion isn't befitting the likes of you," Aisha grinned at me.

"Well, I would have continued had I not thought about you and decided that it was indeed not the right choice of action," I said, failing miserably at trying to make a cool comeback.

"Well, then you need some exercise and perhaps a good swim… shall we jog to the sea and take a dip there?"

"I do see some reasoning in your words and my bones need all the stretching they can get."

"Let's get going then!"

"Ryu! Wake up!"

"Huh? What happened?"

"You're OK!"

"I think so… but what the hell happened?"

"I don't know myself… we were running and the next thing I know I am here and you are looking pretty bad."

"I don't like this…"

"I see you are finally awake," a very familiar voice said to us.

"Where are we and what do you want of us?" I inquired trying to sound confident.

"Why you should know that already my friend! I feel disappointed. You I just want to get rid of and as for your little kitten… I have a personal score to settle with her!"

"Xaa! If you do anything to us, you will pay dearly!"

"And how do you intend to do anything while trapped here and your powers carefully sealed?"

I could only growl in response to that.

"Now let us begin our little pleasure ride, shall we?"

"Whatever, as long as you shut up!"

"Not a good way to talk to someone who has your life in her hand… but it wouldn't make any difference even if you'd flatter me." And with those words she pulled out some sort of a device out of thin air and pointed it at Aisha. "Let us begin with the kitten so you could enjoy yourself a little before I start "working" on you." Right as she said that she pushed a button on the device and it started emitting a blue light. Without giving it any thought I jumped, blocking the light's way to Aisha.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Ryu," Xaa said in a mock-concerned voice.

"It would be a bad choice to do that, this machine I made especially for your dear kitty. It is supposed to drain her soul, but as for you… it will be the most dreadful pain that anyone can ever feel for it will slice up your soul and never let you go until I think you have had enough," having said that Xaa teleported to the other side of the cage we were being held in and fired her weapon at Aisha. with only one thought on my mind I jumped in front of Aisha and got struck by the light…

"RYU!"

"He always was a romantic fool," Xaa said as she was observing me, as I was lying on the floor and screaming.

"Stop it! You'll kill him!"

"Foolish kitten, I told you that this weapon can't kill him, in fact nothing can "kill" him. I plan to drain him of all his powers and imprison him for eternity! I am just going to enjoy myself for a while before I let you experience his agony."

I found my self in a dark hallway. The walls shone with a faint glow and seemed to be pleading for salvation. Behind me – a stairway that looked as if it was going straight to the end of all existence. If it could show any emotions I am certain it would be laughing an insane laugh at the futility of trying to climb it.

In front of me the corridor that emitted such despair that it made it seem as though there was no end to it. I decided to go for the corridor but as I made the first few steps a glimmer of hope in the form of a choice appeared in front of me – the path ahead split into three. Three new directions in which to go gave an illusion of control even though all of them looked exactly the same. Looking back I still saw the ladder so I decided to let my legs carry me forward whatever might be awaiting me next.

Moving along the left side I discovered that three new paths awaited my choice and that somehow made me feel uneasy so I looked back and could do nothing but gasp – the stairs were again right behind my back. Petrifaction seeped throughout my body as a fear grandeur of which I would have never thought to be possible struck its claws into my mind. Gathering all of my strength I drove some of it away and continued to walk further down the corridor, taking lefts, rights and straights at random. Faster and faster till I ran down the seemingly endless corridor… "There has to be a way out of this nightmare!" I herd my own voice but it sounded like thunder booming in the distance.

After yet another left I was forced to stop because a double surprise awaited me there – my choices had narrowed down to only two! A two-way fork in front and no stairs behind me! Puzzled by this unexpected turn of events I started backing up only to discover that an invisible wall was blocking my path back. Feeling that the fear was slowly being replaced by rage I started to run further anew, feeling every cell in my body being fueled by the new found emotion. Soon the forks disappeared altogether. At this point I was fully consumed by the rage so all that was in my mind was "have to run faster… run… run… RUN!"

All too sudden I was brought to a painful stop. A small whimper escaped my clinched teeth as I got up, feeling the blood gushing out of my broken nose. Another invisible wall had appeared in front of me.

I felt my hands cramping up as I clawed at the walls desperately looking for an opening only to find none… I was trapped!

White rage and a distant insanity filled my mind and I started slamming my fists against the walls which were slowly getting covered by the blood that my body was giving away in generous portions. Tired and light-headed from my outburst and the blood-loss I sat down and started observing the walls which seemed to be fully covered by my blood and now were emitting a dark crimson glow. Soon though the light began to change the walls seemed to be pulsating. After a while I noticed that it was because the blood on the walls of my "cell" began to crystallize and small red cracks began racing each other and a fine red mist filled the space around me. Moments later my cell shattered like the last bits of hope in the deepest reaches of hell. I was falling… screaming darkness embraced me as I was accelerating towards the unknown. Apathy consumed me as the last bit my sanity was ravished by the demons of despair. I greeted the stop of my fall almost with gratitude but that was immediately forgotten as an eruption of pain took its place. I opened my eyes to discover that I lying near a street light, the small circle of light the only thing that existed as everything else was just an impenetrable darkness. I slowly dragged what remained of my body to the lamp post and a small laugh found its way out of my almost crushed lungs as I observed the slowly forming trail of blood that I was leaving "who'd have thought that I still had any blood in me…" I took a half-seated position praising the cool metal feeling that the lam post generously offered and then I slowly slid into a sweet sweet oblivion…

I opened my eyes only for a bright light to hit them. A silent scream wrestled its way out of my lungs and it seemed to be rewarded with some attention. "Take your time, your body needs to get used to the idea that there is no more pain." I started to get up, shaking my head trying to shrug off the red mist of pain that was echoing through my head, managing only to get to a seated position before I abandoned the attempt and turned my attention to a shadowy figure in the corner of my sight.

"You need to get some wind in your head, come with me," said the stranger and offered me a hand for support. Taking the hand and getting onto my feet I started to feel my vision getting back so I decided to take a better look at the owner of the hand and the next moment I almost let go because I was looking at a cat!

Smirking at the surprised expression I carried, the cat introduced himself: "my name … Macha, and I am sent here to give you assistance. But before any explanations we should go to a place where you will feel better." Having said that he started leading me towards an edge of a cliff. "Come, we must catch an up going drift." Having a hard time putting two and two together I automatically jumped with him but before my mind could hit the panic button I felt a stream of air carrying us upwards.

As the wind carried us I felt it also rushing through every cell of my body, cleansing me of everything that had happened, bringing me to a state of hyper-vigilance.

"Seeing that you are feeling better I think it is time for some explanations… Firstly it must be said that I am doing the bidding of your sister. Before you ask, she cannot reveal her location to you… yet. As for this place, it is created within a corner of your mind that is untainted by Xaa's power. Here you are able to summon up a portion of your powers thusly creating a possibility for you to escape the nightmare. Also you must think of a way to escape you imprisonment."

"But how can I?"

"Since you alone cannot do it I'd suggest calling for help."

"Help… but who?"

"That I something you must decide for yourself."

"But…"

"I am sorry but I cannot help you any further, also, it must be noted that Xaa will start to get interested in your state very soon so I would suggest that you make haste." And with these words he disappeared as did the wind carrying me. I was falling again. But this time it felt different… My mind was racing, processing information at an inhuman rate as the ground got closer and closer, yet no fear entered my thoughts… "I got it!"

I opened my eyes and discovered that I was observed by Xaa who seemed to be unable to move because of the shock.

"How did you…" she inquired, still baffled.

"It would seem that your toy is not really up for the job."

"But… Well, no matter, you two are still in my captivity."

"That also is yet to be determined," I said, feeling that a grin was forming on my face.

"What…" began Xaa but her words were cut off by the sound of a gunfight that erupted very close by. Xaa turned away from us to see what was going on only to be greeted by heavy gunfire. Not having recovered form the shock she started dodging them and didn't notice a man taking a careful aim at her with a very interesting gun. Fire… Blue light erupted from the barrel and hit Xaa. She got thrown against the side of the cave and immediately got hit by a rocket. The explosion causing a cave-in to start which immediately buried Xaa under a big pile of rocks. Moments after a beautiful woman wielding a wooden sword freed Aisha and me from the cage and gestured towards the exit. We ran… Explosions resonated through out the cave and swarms of bullets awaited prey. The exit was near but we had to stop for a whole army of indescribable minions of Xaa appeared in front of us, but I did not think of fear or anything else so pathetic and with Xaa's seal of my powers weakening every moment I felt I could finally take a strong offensive stance.

I threw my arms forward letting my mind unleash the power I now felt rushing through me and the floor underneath the throng cracked, rose and the shattered. As I observed the mayhem I found a little dark pleasure in letting someone else experience the dark despair of a fall to unknown. Then I raised my arms upwards in a very dramatic gesture in hopes to impress my saviors and brought rocks from the walls to form a bridge for us to get to safety.

"A guy that can do **that** needed us to save him?" a young voice I identified as Jim questioned behind me, followed immediately by a rebuke from Gene: "Shut up! Keep running! Question the workings of the universe later!"

As soon as we got out of the cave I found that we were on a red planet that seemed to have died a long time ago. Remains of ruins millennia old making their last stand against the merciless time surrounded a red ship. A red ship that I knew was here to take us towards the stars and away from this hellhole.

"Gilliam, open the hatch now! We are going to attempt to make to make the quickest planetary launch ever!"

"My future prospects seem darker by every day spent with this crew…"

"Bite me!"

A hatch on the ship's side opened and we ran into a dark-blue metallic corridor.

"And who might this gentleman be?"

"I'll explain later, we have to get out of here **now**!"

"Very well…"

The cockpit was almost as I remembered it except for another seat in front. Without giving it much thought I jumped into it and turned my head to observe the take-off procedure.

Gene was doing something with the controls and yelling at Gilliam. Jim mumbled under his breath while Aisha commented our actions to be cowardly and that she would have ripped them limb from limb if she had the chance. Melfina was in her place taking care of the take-off procedures and Suzuka seemed more interested in me than the mayhem around us. Feeling that the fatigue had finally caught up to me I decided to close my eyes and rest them a bit…

When I opened my eyes the room was dark and the only sounds I could hear were the hum of machinery accompanied by soft tapping of someone working at a keyboard. I turned to look around and discovered that the only person in the cockpit besides me was Gene.

"You wouldn't happen to know where I could obtain a bucket of coffee at this hour?"

"Oh, yes! There is this nice little coffee shop just over eighty three million miles to the left… but I think it doesn't have a parking lot big enough for our ship."

"While I admit that joking around instead of saving someone's life is a trait of only the best captains, it would be a shame for me to pass away so shortly after my rescue."

"Heh, well, I might become a terrible captain if the situation calls for it. What is your poison?"

"Black coffee… and strong enough to cause a hull-breach."

"All right…But you have to promise to warn me before your heart explodes. Jim, are you still in the kitchen? Good, then get the biggest mug of the strongest brew possible, our guest has awoken and threatens to slip back into coma if he doesn't get coffee."

After getting a confirmation Gene turned to me: "The coffee will be here soon, but meanwhile, could you tell me who you are? Aisha said something about gods or demons or whatnot and I don't understand what to make of it all."

"Erm… well, it is a bit difficult to explain… You could say that I am a god but I am far from omnipotent and even further from understanding how to use my powers. I am afraid I cannot explain much more until I understand what to do next."

"So, what are you planning on doing now?"

"I would be happy if you allowed me to stay aboard this ship until I figure out what's happening."

"Well, that won't be a problem since there are two good reasons for you to stay."

"What do you mean?"

"Firstly I am bored and this looks like it could turn out to be fun… and second, Aisha would rip my ears off and shove them up my nose if I said no. She seems to have taken a real liking to you."

Our conversation was cut short by Jim and Aisha who entered the cockpit.

"Here is your coffee and don't blame me if you get a heart attack."

"Why is everyone concerned with my heart?"

"Because if something happens to you I will attempt to find out how their livers work by examining them up close and personal."

"Brrh… So what did I miss while I was out?"

"Nothing much, we escaped and now are heading towards a hot spring planet."

"Why are we…"

"Because Gene has the idea that he might procure special shells for his caster."

"I think hot springs is just what I need now… How long till we get there?"

"As soon as Melfina gets here we will make two jumps so about nine hours."

"_So… hot spring planet… That means that next stop is the Galactic Leyline. Maybe I will be able to find some answers there…"_

As we approached the planet a certain feeling of unease crept up. As if a distant voice was trying to warn me about something but couldn't get through.

"Gene, forget about the caster shells and get us the hell out of here, **now**!"

"What do…"

"No time to explain, just hurry!"

Gene paused for a second then started to slam commands into the console.

"Crap! The engines are acting up again.. we can't make a jump now! I swear I will upload a virus to that round little bastard's translator that interprets everything he says as profanities next time we are at Blue Heaven!"

"Gene, there appears to be an ether stream forming within twelve minutes flight, although I recommend.."

"Bite me!" Set a course to the closest entry point to it and I'll show our new friend what this baby can **really** do!"

"My future prospects.."

"**Bite! Me!**"

A muffled yelp, coming from Jim's position, then caught everyone's attention: "We have company! Eight to starboard, 4 to port.. and about a billion on out asses! They just suddenly appeared a moment ago!"

"Friends of yours?" Gene threw my way as he entered commands to push the engines past their limit.

"Worse… siblings…"

"Shit! Gilliam, override **all** safeties! I don't care if we blow our engines so long as we get to the stream!"

"Done, and don't blame the next repair bill on me."

"Jim, can they catch up?"

"Time till we enter the stream, 66 seconds. Time till they get to the extreme range missile lock.. 54 seconds!"

"Crap! New-guy! Can you do some of your voodoo to slow 'em or speed us up?"

"No, they are blocking all my attempts!"

"Well then, let's see if we can outrun rockets!"

"The enemy has fired their first salvo! The stream is creating some minor interferences so I can't say how much time till the rockets hit, but my guess is that we either have a second to spare or we are dead."

"No time to think about small details, Jim! Entering grappler combat mode!"

The cockpit went dark and Gilliam started counting down the seconds till entering the ether stream.

5… Jim was huddling in his seat, mumbling incoherently.

4… Suzuka sat quietly, seemingly more interested in me than our possible doom.

3… Aisha seemed to want to jump over to where I was sitting, the only thing preventing her was the cable she somehow got entangled in.

2… Melfina looked calm as she was looking at the back of Gene who was concentrating on the controls.

1… I took a deep breath…

AN: And here is chapter 3, posted in celebration on my first review! Only took nearly 5 years… Devil of Solitude, You made my day, man!

Don't know about when the next chapter will be coming because I work about 150 hours a week -_-*, but rest assured, there WILL be more!


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